Editing GAL (paramilitary group) (section)

{{Short description|1983–87 Spanish government death squads}}
{{Lead too short|date=February 2025}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=June 2023}}
{{Infobox militant organization
| name             = GAL (Grupos Antiterroristas de Liberación)
| native_name      = 
| native_name_lang = 
| other_name       = 
| logo             =  
| caption          =  
| dates            = {{Start date|1983|10|15}}{{snd}}{{End date|1987}}
| leader           = [[José Barrionuevo]]<br>[[Enrique Rodríguez Galindo]]<br>[[Rafael Vera]]<br>[[José Amedo Fouce]]<br>Ricardo García Damborenea<br>Julián Sancristóbal
| motives          = Elimination of [[ETA (separatist group)|ETA]]
| area             = France<br/>Spain
| crimes           = 
| attacks          = [[Monbar Hotel attack]]<br>[[Killing of Lasa and Zabala]]
| status           = Inactive
| size             = Several dozen members
| revenue          =
| financing        =
| url              = <!-- {{URL|example.com}} -->
}}
[[File:Eugenio gutierrez tigre-01.jpg|thumb|Memorial for Eugenio Gutiérrez Salazar, killed by GAL|alt=Memorial with a picture, flowers and a Basque flag]]
'''GAL''' ([[Spanish language|Spanish]]: ''Grupos Antiterroristas de Liberación'', "Antiterrorist Liberation Groups") were [[death squad]]s illegally established by officials of the [[Spanish government]] during the [[Basque conflict]] to fight against [[ETA (separatist group)|ETA]], the main [[Basque nationalism|Basque separatist]] [[militant]] group. They were active from 1983 to 1987 under [[Spanish Socialist Workers' Party]] (PSOE)-led governments.

GAL's activities, known as "the dirty war," primarily targeted ETA members and Basque nationalists, with attacks occurring mainly in the Basque country on the French side of the Spanish-French border, but kidnappings and torture also took place in Spain. The daily newspaper El Mundo played a crucial role in exposing GAL. Several Spanish police officers and government officials were convicted and imprisoned when the operation ended. The death squads were an important issue during the 1996 election, when the PSOE was defeated by José María Aznar's People's Party (PP) for the first time.